The invention relates generally to amusement devices in the form of rolling ball or pinball games and, more particularly, to a multimode play feature for such games.
A typical pinball game includes an inclined playfield with a number of play features arranged thereon. The player of the game operates flippers to direct a pinball at the play features to accumulate points and control the play of the game. Pinball games are typically coin or token operated and thus must be designed to attract player interest in order to be profitable. A key factor in the appeal of pinball games is the novelty and challenge offered by their play features. Accordingly, there is a constant need for pinball game manufacturers to develop new and unique play features which both entertain and challenge players.
One strategy employed by pinball game manufacturers is to provide pinball games with more than one mode of play. More specifically, such games offer the player an initial selection of targets (in the first mode) and later, after the player has obtained a certain score or accessed specific play features, the games enter a second mode featuring a different selection of targets. An example of such a game is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,646 to Joos, Jr. et al.
Pinball games with more than one mode of play are desirable because they are able to offer increased levels of difficulty in accordance with the player's level of skill. For example, the selection of targets offered during the second mode of game play may be more challenging than the initial selection of targets. This is an advantage as it allows one game to be enjoyed by both novice and advanced players.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a challenging and novel play feature that offers multimode play.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multimode play feature that offers modes with differing levels of difficulty.